Dancing Astronaut’s Guide to Memorial Day Weekend, Las Vegas

With Miami Music Week and Coachella behind us, awesome event withdrawal is starting to settle in. All hope is not lost, however, since your next opportunity to let loose is right around the corner. Hundreds of thousands of people will soon descend into the infamous desert town of Las Vegas – America’s newfound mecca for EDM — to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend. The biggest casinos and clubs have booked the world’s premier DJs to headline the weekend’s club events. In order to make sure you do it right and not find yourself at the Imperial Palace’s low-limit Pai Gow poker tables, we’ve created a guide to Memorial Day Weekend Las Vegas and we’ve picked out the best events you won’t want to miss.

Wednesday May 23rd

If you happen to be in Vegas on Wednesday, get things started with AN21 and Max Vangeli at Surrender. The duo is gearing up to release their album People of the Night, and it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll get to hear their latest track — “H8rs.”

The Wynn kicks off the MDW festivities for real on Thursday night with the first dilemma of the weekend. Alesso and Otto Knows will no doubt put on a huge show at Wynn’s Tryst nightclub, but just a short walk away, Afrojack and Sidney Samson will hit the decks of Encore’s Surrender with a barrage of dirty Dutch bleeps. This call depends on your personal preference, but in our opinion, you can’t go wrong either way.

Refune Records head and Swedish House Mafia member Sebastian Ingrosso will bring the energy to Encore Beach Club Friday Day. Proclaimed 2012 “Dayclub of the Year” by Nightclub & Bar and best “Adult Pool Party” in Vegas by USA Today in 2011, Encore Beach Club is the perfect venue to host a talent like Ingrosso. Let loose to huge tracks like Calling (Lose My Mind) and Eclipse (Why Am I Doing This) – keep your fingers crossed for him to drop unreleased ones like the new Swedish House Mafia track or his and Steve Angello’s collaboration with Skrillex and Ellie Goulding.

After holding a residency at The Joint at Hard Rock last year, Tiesto now calls the various clubs at Wynn Resorts home. With a sprawling indoor/outdoor landscape, XS is the ideal setting for the number one DJ in the world. Expect a high-end stage production and plenty of tracks off his latest Club Life Volume 2: Miami album.

Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan is one of Las Vegas’ newest clubs and has quickly turned into one of the city’s premier spots. Dirty Dutch kingpin Chuckie and French producer Cedric Gervais will hit the decks, offering huge tunes for day-partiers. Expect to hear big tracks like Cedric’s “Molly” and Chuckie’s unique mix of uplifting house and Dutch bleeps.

Not much needs to be said for a Grammy-winning DJ/producer like Skrillex. While his tunes may not be ideal for a dressy Vegas club environment, there is no arguing against the fact that Sonny cranks the energy up in his performances. Saturday night is full of can’t-go-wrong options, but seeing Skrillex at a beautiful club like Tryst is an opportunity too good to pass up.

If you passed up Kaskade at the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea Ballroom on Saturday night, here is your second-chance. Marquee Dayclub is a much more intimate venue than the stadiums and arenas Kaskade is selling-out during his Freaks of Nature tour. Expect big, uplifting tunes and a whole lot of pool splashing.

We’ve had the opportunity to see Deadmau5 perform at XS last year, and we can sincerely say it was an incredible experience. We don’t know yet whether this will feature Joel’s usual production or if it will be an unhooked performance, but regardless, this will surely be memorable. After spending a lot of time in the studio, expect some new material during this one.

Nicky Romero is one of the fastest up-and-coming producers in EDM at the moment. With a string of new releases and huge productions, this youngster is a must see. What better place to see him than at Marquee Dayclub? This should be a no-brainer unless you missed Deadmau5 at XS Sunday night – if you did, you have a second chance to see him at Encore Beach Club.

There is no other option for Monday night – this is the premier event of the entire weekend. No better way to cap off the trip than seeing two of EDM’s biggest names share the stage at the number one club in Vegas. You are a crazy person if you skip this.

It’s that time of year again: the influx of DJ rankings has begun. Last month, for instance, DJ Times announced America’s Top DJs, and now DJ Mag has released their annual Top 100 list. Is it just us, or are all